US flies strategic bombers over Korean peninsula

Two U.S. Air Force bombers flew over North Korea on Tuesday night, in a demonstration aimed at deterring North Korean military activity on the 72nd anniversary of the nation’s ruling party, Reuters reported.

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The U.S. flew the two B-1B Lancer bombers over the peninsula along with South Korean F-15K fighter planes and additional fighters from Japan, which the U.S. military said was the first such nighttime maneuver conducted by the three countries together. 

The air-to-ground missile maneuvers near the South Korean coast were intentionally scheduled for North Korea’s communist party’s anniversary. Pyongyang has historically conducted tests on noteworthy anniversaries and holidays such as a missile test on July 4 for America’s Independence Day. 

North Korea did not conduct any launches or tests on Tuesday’s anniversary. 

The U.S. bombers took off from the Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, the U.S. Pacific territory that North Korea singled out as a possible target for a missile strike over the summer, as President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un engaged in bombastic rhetoric and brinkmanship. 

North Korea conducted what it claimed was the test of a hydrogen bomb in September, which it aims to mount on an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting the mainland U.S. So far, none of its missiles have demonstrated capabilities of hitting the U.S.